The Weather, Bills & More Bills
There has not been a big drop in my electric bill so far this season. South Florida has had 30 days of above average temperatures since December 1, and only five below average days. Hot weather throughout the country may have a significant affect on our tourist season and our wallets. Saving electricity will make a difference in your pocket all year.
I recently received a wonderful thank you note from a resident I helped with some tips to save money on her electric bill. She invested about $70 and saved nearly $100 the first month. She will continue to have savings each month in the future though the amount may change depending on the cost of power.
She replaced 21 of the most used standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). They are commonly available now in many stores and they are more reasonably priced now, only a few dollars each.
In addition, she purchased and installed an Energy Star thermostat that is pre-programmed to control daytime and nighttime temperatures. These are designed to adjust temperatures to save electricity when you are away from home. They can be adjusted based on your activity schedule whether you work during the day or night or are home all the time.
One easy energy and money saving tip is to turn lights off when you don’t need them. The old myth about fluorescent lights was that it was better to leave them on and save the ballast than to turn them off and on each time you enter or leave a room. New technology and better ballasts have shown that it is best to turn CFLs and incandescent lights on only when you need them. Electronic ballasts provide an instant on feature so you don’t have the slight delay when you flip the switch.
There are now many new styles of CFL lights to replace the older incandescent types. If you have a fixture with a dimmer switch, be sure to select a new replacement that is rated for dimming to avoid fire hazards.
Replace the bank of lights over the bathroom mirror with CFLs because they don’t give off the heat like an incandescent bulb so it is cooler in the bathroom when the lights are on. Replacing many incandescent bulbs removes a big heat source in the house, which also saves on air conditioning costs.
There are small format mini-twist CFLs that fit into small table lamps and ceiling fixtures as well as outdoor fixtures. I have a white round globe CFL bulb that fits into my hanging glass lamp in the kitchen as well as my decorative hanging lamps in the bathroom.
Replace the spotlights in high cathedral ceiling fixtures with CFL spotlights. CFLs are ideal for cathedral ceiling. They have such a long life, some say 10,000 hours, that they minimize how often you need to change them in such hard to reach places.
When shopping for compact fluorescents, in addition to size and shape, the other major consideration is how much light they emit. Generally, the lower the wattage, the lower the light output. Read the label and see how many lumens are produced to tell how bright the light will be. CFLs produce more lumens per watt of electricity used so they are a cheaper way of producing light. Lumen output from a 15 watt CFL is approximately the same as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. You can even find compact fluorescent floodlights suitable for outdoor security lighting.
You gain the most saving in electricity and air conditioning by replacing the most frequently used light bulbs. Then consider adding task lighting in areas where you need brighter light for example a reading or sewing area. Then you can turn off the bright overhead lights in the kitchen, living room and bedroom and have light where you need it most. Switch to low lumen lights when watching television to reduce glare on the screen.
All fluorescent bulbs contain mercury so proper disposal is important to avoid polluting the environment. Try not to break them, as the vapor is the very dangerous part. Take them to one of the county household waste disposal centers when you recycle your used batteries